What You Can Do to Prevent Radicalism

According to a Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) statement released on Tuesday (Sep 26), the Singaporean man identified in a propaganda video by terror group Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), known as Abu ‘Uqayl, is believed to be Megat Shahdan Abdul Samad, 39, who left Singapore to work in “a country in the Middle East” in early 2014.

He has been fighting in Syria and Iraq and was even injured in combat. He is confirmed to be the third Singaporean known to have joined ISIS. He has a history of drug and criminal convictions. Between 1997 and 2009, he has been in and out of jail.

After he left Singapore, his family noticed that he had become more observant of his religious obligations, attended religious gatherings and was “believed to have subsequently become radicalised by IS’s violent ideology”.

Here are three things TehTarik wants to highlight:

Radicalisation can happen to anyone.
This year alone, an infant-care assistant, two AETOS officers, a managing director and an admin assistant, all between the ages of 22-34, were arrested under ISA. A person can be radicalised regardless of his work experience, education, age, race or religion. Education on prevention of radicalisation must reach every corner of our society.

Know the signs.
Signs of radicalism may include, but are not limited to, avid consumption of radical materials; propagating and re-posting terrorism-related images, videos and posts; expressing support for terrorist entities; and encouraging others or stating an intention to commit terrorist violence.

Promptly contact authorities.
If you suspect someone, contact the ISD Counter-Terrorism Centre hotline 1800-2626-473 (1800-2626-ISD) so that the affected person(s) can be steered away from radicalism or even terrorism. If you are aware of their activity and don’t do anything about it, you will also be jeopardising our national security.